President Donald Trump cites a strong economy as a major achievement, and there is ample evidence that he rightly has bragging rights. The stock market has been on a tear for years and unemployment is at a 50-year low.

By waging a foolish tariff war with China, the president is putting his best political chip at risk. On Monday, financial markets were on pace for the worst day in 2019 as investors ran for cover from the fallout of looming 25% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese products. The United States and China still could reach a deal to avoid more tariffs, but the financial markets are running scared.

China has responded with tariffs on about $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, and Trump seems more than willing to go toe-to-toe with additional rounds of tariffs.

This will hurt American workers, consumers and investors. But the president might be most persuaded by the likelihood it will hurt his re-election efforts.

For everyday Americans, this extended battle will cost us hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs, amounting to a tax on anything imported from China. And, as the financial markets plummet, the wealth of investors, from big institutional investors to people who count on the appreciation of stocks to help finance retirement portfolios, will disappear.

Yet, the president insists on being his own worst enemy. In several tweets over the weekend, he argued that the U.S. was in a strong position over trade. His economic adviser Larry Kudlow, among others, begs to differ. On Sunday, Kudlow said “both sides” will feel the pain, and he’s right.

Trump’s claim that trade wars are easy to win is a dangerous boast. Trade wars produce wealth-sucking collateral damage to both the U.S. and global economies. Until now, the financial markets had factored the war of words into their projections with the hope that China and the U.S. would reach an accord. It’s hard to express optimism as long as the president seems oblivious to economic realities.

Entering the 2020 election cycle, the president had an ally in a strong economy. The performance of the markets and the trickle-down impact on the cost of the goods American consumers purchase every day could soon erode that narrative. And that shock could be felt not just in the wallet, but at the ballot box, too.

This editorial was written by the editorial board and serves as the voice and opinion of The Dallas Morning News.